Abandoned Square of Metallurgists in Dnipro
At the beginning of the summer of 2022 in Dnepr on Ivan Mazepa Avenue (formerly Petrovsky Avenue), Metallurgov Square was restored. It used to be not just a park area, but a whole forest, dark and impenetrable, and even scarier. Drug addicts gather there, and it’s better not to go there.
Adding to this oppressive situation was the fact that the square was located behind the abandoned Ilyich Palace between the old (pre-revolutionary hospital complex).
And suddenly everything changed. The grass was mowed, trash was removed, modern paths were made, benches and lights were installed, and even a basketball court was equipped.
Now parents and children enjoy coming to Metallurgists Square on Shcherbanja and even come to play basketball.
But the best part is yet to come!
Who is Totoro from Dnipro
There are new tenants in the square on Scherban’s Square in Dnepropetrovsk. These are the fairy-tale characters from the Hayao Miyazaki anime “My Neighbor Totoro”. These are Totoro himself, Kotobas, and some black girls.
I definitely didn’t recognize the Blacks, even though I watched the anime carefully!
Totoro is a forest spirit who can be both good and evil if he is severely offended. The Kotobus is also a forest spirit. Together, they guard the forest and help children (only children can see them).
These characters were invented by Miyazaki and made a movie about them in 1988. Interestingly, in Europe and America, the anime “My Neighbor Totoro” only became popular 20 years later.
Ghibli Green Corner
Totoro and his friends appeared in the park thanks to TeamArt team. These sculptures are Ghibli Green Corner compositions made of artificial grass. They are designed for children 2-7 years old. They were created by order of the city authorities of Dnipro.
The compositions reconstruct scenes from the film. In the rain, the sisters decide to meet their father with an umbrella and walk him home. Unnoticed, Totoro appears at the bus stop and the girl offers him her umbrella, to which the fabulous creature reacts with surprise. And Totoro, in exchange for the umbrella, gives the children a box of seeds and calls the bus, which turns out to be a flying cat – Kotobus.
The work came out very realistic, the grass is pleasant to the touch, and there really became a lot of children here. I’m sure that few people in Dnieper know about Totoro, and in the new park they will not only get positive emotions, but also learn something they didn’t know before.